No question of my resigning: Raja

NEW DELHI - Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja Friday said he would not resign over allegations of his involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.

“The question of my resignation does not arise,” Raja said on the sidelines of a national e-governance event here.

Raja, a DMK MP and a key ally of the ruling alliance, has been accused of ignoring the advice of the finance and law ministries, as also the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India while allocating the spectrum.

The telecom department had followed the policy of first-come-first-serve basis in the allocation of 2G spectrum licences and the cut-off date was arbitrarily changed and the licences were also awarded to just 120 of the 575 applicants.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Wednesday submitted to the government its report on the controversial 2G spectrum allotment that is understood to have caused a loss of over Rs.170,000 crore to the national exchequer.

The price at which telecom operators were allotted the spectrum in 2008 was based on 2001 prices.